Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-11-26
NEW USE FOR BELLS.
How a Restaurant Manager Obviates the old System of Bawling Out Orders

old System of Bawling Out Orders .'where's my ham and eggs'" impa- tiently asked a man of the waiter m a Clark street restaurant the other day. ..
 ssTheyis a ccmin' sah, they's cOmin-
 ''But didn't hear you give the order
 ssNo. sah; we doan give no Ordahs; we touch de bells"
 sT've got a new scheme" said the man. acer, who had overheard the conversation. ssI don't know how it is with you, but It takes away my appetite to go into a res taurant where the waiter, when he gets an order, bawls it out at the top of his voice. Now, in some places, after order ing just what you did here you'd hear the waiter shout, one in the dark, white wings, hog to come along and if you told him that you wanted the eggs cooked on both sides, he'd sing out, 'shipwreck them white wings Of course the cook understands that ham and eggs and cup of coffee are the articles called for by this order. but to the uninitiated it is all Greek. Walters slang is the most com plex jargon ever used, and why they use 1t they are unable to explain themselves. Now, by my system all the noise and con fusion are done away win. You never
 
 not obliged to leave the dining room But come with me and I'll show you" |"
 The manager led the way tO table near the center of the room. Upon 1t were about twenty white buttons, and at the base of each was a label. Every button was capable of transmitting several or ders. For instance one of the buttons was labeled ''eggs, ' and upon card were ,h f,I d tsE'nr hrffafl ring once; eggs on toast, twice; scrambled eggs, three times; Omelet, four times. " IL was the same with steaks, as by a different number of rings the distinction between tenderlOin, pOrterhOuse and sir loin, rare medium or well done could be conveyed to the kitchen with as much ac- curacy and with more speed than by the voice.
 Wen go down tO the kitchen and see how that end of it works" remarked the manager, leading the way to flight of stairs. A savOry smell of cooking meat was waited to the visitor as he descended the stairs. In front of half dozen big brOilers stood as many white jacketed cooks, with equally white caps placed rakishly upon their heads. The manager said that the caps were not worn for adornment, but Co prevent hairs and dandruff from falling into the food. II don't know why it is, v said he, ''but con stant working near fire seems Co have tendency tO cause the hair to drop out. Of course that would never do, so we oblige the men Co wear linen head gear in order to prevent any mishaps. Then, tp1 it looks cleaner, and in a restaurant .HHks are everything"
 Opposite the ranges, surrounded by s little railing. was an aununciatOr re- sembling those used in hotels to denote the numbers of rooms. In front of it was seated a lad about Ij years of age with number of tickets in his hand. Each ticket had a number printed upon it cor responding to the number given one of the cooks. These were called off in rOta- tiOn, so that each one of the cooks would get the same number of dishes to serve. Suddenly there was a whirring sound. followed by a quick snap. The boy looked up and saw the word steak" on tri- angular piece of metal. Then came two short rings and a long one. The boy looked at a card and called: No. 2. ten derlOin steak rare, with mushrooms" The triangular piece of metal was put back in its place, and in trice a juicy steak was sizzling on the iron. IL was getting along toward o'clock then, and the orders began to come in thick and fast
 ''We don't serve anything here but short Orders,' said the manager, and. though have over fifty articles on my bill of fare, have never found one that could not he ordered by means of the bell. don't believe there's another system like it in the country, and you can see for yourself how much time and trouble it saves. "-Chicago Herald.